“Cherry, what the fuck is going on?”
“There are men here. I don’t know who they are.”
The other end of the line goes silent for a moment. “Where are you?”
I explain and he tells me to go to the door on the right. I run over and open it only to find another door with a keypad. I tell him and he gives me a code. The men are banging at the basement door now, they can hear Oscar. I turn back to see Jesse crawling over to try to comfort him but he is shaking badly.
“Taylor, the code.”
“Okay.” I tap it in again and the door opens, revealing a panic room. “Jesus.”
“Get inside, hurry up. We’re coming.”
“Jesse is bad, Noah, he’s going into shock. Someone messed with his insulin. I think he's injected way too much.”
“Get in the panic room, the door automatically locks. Everything you need is in there, do not come out unless I call Taylor. Go. And Taylor,” he pauses. “Protect him.”
“I will.”
I throw the phone inside and run back for Oscar. He is crying in earnest now as the door above us splinters.
With speed I didn’t know I was capable of, I grab Oscar and hurry back to the room. There is a bed in the far corner, I set him down, trying to soothe him and run back out to help Jesse.
“Just get in there,” he mumbles.
“I’m not leaving you,” I drag him up and he falls against me, almost knocking us over. “Come on Jesse, you can make it.”
The door opens and two men come in, running down the stairs. I practically launch us at the door to where the panic room is and push Jesse. He goes sprawling inside as I slam the outer door then get into the panic room. The door closes as the two men get the other door open and raise their guns.
The panic room door slams shut and I hear the faint sound of pinging. The bullets are ricocheting off the metal as some mechanics whir, locking us inside. Oscar is really crying now and I run over to soothe him looking at Jesse on the floor, his whole T-shirt is soaked through with sweat.
“It’s okay, honey, we’re okay,” I press Oscar into my chest and pull the food and tablets from my pocket. “We’re gonna go make Uncle Jesse all better okay. He’s not feeling so good, do you want to help me?”
He nods, but he’s still crying. I wipe his face with the bottom of my t-shirt and kiss his little forehead. I’m not sure how much comfort he is getting but I shuffle off the bed and over to Jesse. He looks up at me with distant eyes.
“We’re ok… He’s… ok?” He asks.
“We’re good, they can’t get in.” I hope.
The sound of them is faint but they’re still there. I set Oscar down and ask him to make sure his puppy is okay, which he does in zero point two seconds, then he reaches for me again.
“Let me do this baby, okay?”
He crawls to Jesse, crying again. Jesse takes his hand and tries to tell him everything is okay as I unwrap a glucose tablet, so thankful Noah keeps everything Jesse needs, I love that about him in that moment.
No matter what anyone says, they will never convince me that Noah is a bad man. Oscar is curling up by Jesse as I give him the tablet, then tear open the chips. His shirt is absolutely drenched but if I don't get more sugar into him he's going to be in serious trouble. If he starts having seizures we're really screwed.
The glucose and food won’t be enough to fix this, but it’s enough to stop him going into shock. I hope. The phone rings on the floor and I turn around looking for it. It’s Noah.
“Are you inside?” he shouts.
“Yes, we’re safe. Can they get in here?”
“A tank can’t get through those walls, Cherry. Is Oscar okay, I hear him crying,” his voice is pained.
“He’s a little scared but we’re okay.” I get up and turn away. “Jesse needs medical help and fast. I don’t know what else I can do for him. It’s bad, Noah.”
“We’re almost there. Do you see the screens on the wall? Turn them on for me.”
